Palliative care
If you have been diagnosed with advanced cancer, or cancer that can’t be cured, your healthcare team may offer you palliative care. This aims to help you manage your symptoms and improve your quality of life. Palliative care also includes emotional support and practical advice.
This page describes what palliative care involves and where to get support and more information.
What is palliative care?
Palliative care aims to:
- provide relief from pain and other distressing symptoms
- help you stay as active as possible
- provide emotional and spiritual support
- help you live a full life and treat dying as a natural process
- offer support to your family to help them cope.
Some people think that palliative care is for people at the end of their lives. But this isn’t always the case. You may have palliative treatments alongside your cancer treatment when you are first diagnosed with advanced bowel cancer, or soon after. Some people may start palliative care after their cancer treatment has stopped working.
Palliative care can’t cure your cancer, but it aims to improve your quality of life. You may have treatments to manage symptoms of your cancer. For example:
- pain relief to manage any symptoms of pain
- treatments to help with a loss of appetite
- medications to help with feeling sick (nausea) and being sick (vomiting)
- medications to help you sleep
Some people may also choose to use complementary therapies to help manage the symptoms of their cancer, or side effects of treatment.
Cancer treatments may also be given palliatively. These may be used to shrink the cancer which may reduce or get rid of symptoms.
Palliative cancer treatments may include:
Palliative care also includes emotional, social and spiritual support to you and your family. It helps you to stay independent for as long as possible and helps you make decisions about your care.
Getting palliative care
You may have palliative care at home, in hospital, at a care home or in a hospice. You may also be able to visit hospices during the day to have palliative treatments, complementary therapies and to take part in social activities.
A range of organisations offer free palliative care, including the NHS, social services and voluntary organisations.
You may get care from your healthcare team, or a specialist palliative care team. Your GP or healthcare team can refer you to a palliative care team or tell you what palliative care services are available locally. Where possible, you should be able to choose where you would like to be cared for.
Palliative care teams are made up of staff who specialise in palliative care. They may be based in your local hospital or hospice. They may include doctors, specialist nurses, clinical psychologists, counsellors and other health professionals, like physiotherapists and dietitians. They will listen to your wishes and offer emotional and practical support to help you make decisions and carry on with your everyday life.
Macmillan Cancer Support has information available to help you find palliative care services across the UK.
Support for family and friends
Family and friends are often involved in providing care and support to people living with advanced cancer. Caring for someone can be challenging, but support is available to help you.
The healthcare team can be a good source of local support for friends and family. Looking after yourself and getting the help you need will allow you to support your loved one. The following organisations also provide information, advice and support for family and friends who are caring for someone:
Carers Trust supports unpaid carers by providing breaks, information, advice and education, training and employment opportunities.
Carers UK gives support, information and advice to family and friends who act as carers.
Healthtalk.org has videos of carers talking about looking after someone with a terminal illness.
Marie Curie has detailed information and practical advice to help with looking after someone, as well as information on where you can get support.
Children and young people can sometimes find it difficult to understand what is happening when a family member has a serious illness or cancer. You can read about talking to children on our diagnosis pages. The healthcare company BUPA also has information for children and young people.
More information
Hospice UK has information on hospice care and how to find your local hospice or you can speak to your GP.
Macmillan Cancer Support has information on palliative care and links to organisations that provide services across the UK.
Maggie’s offers free practical, emotional and social support to people with cancer and their families and friends.
Marie Curie provides information on palliative care.
Last updated August 2025
Next review: August 2028
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